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RotaryProphet · 02-22-2009, 10:29 PM

Putting a stock 20b with a good OEM rebuild and factory twins in should run between $5k and $10k, depending on how much of the drivetrain you put in with it, and what the car is designed to do. A street driven car probably doesn't need a twin clutch, particularly in the case of an 1980 RX, which weighs very little compared to what the motor came in OEM. I wouldn't recommend using the 12a trans, obviously (although I did run a 238rwhp ~300fwhp turbo 12a in my car on the stock trans/driveshaft/rear for dozens of strip and dyno runs and never had a failure - much to the dismay of people who told me I'd pop transmissions left and right). The stock rear on an FB will hold surprisingly much power (ask the rear in my small block chevy 400ci powered FB), and the wheels will spin in that car long before you have a chance to pop a T2 trans.

Now if he's planning on running drag radials and launching at full throttle, none of that will stand up. But my point is, you guys are making serious assumptions about the point of this car, and the budget of the person doing the swap.

When I say $30k is ridiculous, I'm assuming this is a street car, as the OP didn't specifically say otherwise. Again, if this is a drag car, A) that changes the equation seriously, and B) the OP shouldn't really be getting into that without knowing ahead of time what he's going to be doing to the car.

But when I say half that, I mean I could build a street car to those general specs for $15k without a doubt. It's about knowing where you can do things cheaper and (usually) better. I use Megasquirt EFI systems I can build and wire in myself as opposed to haltech systems I can't modify, which saves literally thousands of dollars in most cases. I do the tuning in-house on my engine dyno, so I know where there are power gains to be had, and the tune ends up much more streetable because an engine dyno can hit places that a chassis dyno realistically can't. And the big thing, I'm used to doing things on a budget, and I know where there's free and cheap power. You don't buy thousand dollar intakes when you can build one in house for half the price. You don't spent thousands of dollars beefing up the trans when you can swap in a different one (I'm thinking T5) easier. You don't replace axles and the diff in the stock rear if you can swap out to a ford 9" rear by welding on some suspension brackets. The main point is that all of this can be done cheaply and will give superb performance- but it's labor intensive, and a lot of it boils down to how much the shop you go to charges for labor. Me? I'm dirt cheap, I do this to support my own habit, really. My profit goes to pay for my garage and more machine tools and such so that I can keep building my own stuff.

The project I'm finishing in the next couple of weeks is a 20b build for a kid in New Jersey. It pretty much matches the OP's vague description. With a heavy port and a large single turbo, custom intake with an integral water->air intercooler (which is actually situated post-throttle body to increase spool time and so that the intercooler can actually function as the intake plenum) at moderate boost levels we're making 600 hp. I haven't run up into the high boost area yet, I'm debating with the customer the need for it, as we've already passed his power goal. With fuel system, Megasquirt, transmission, rear end, water/air intercooler system, oil coolers ,radiator, upgraded suspension, engine rebuild, custom manifolds and everything else involved, parts cost came out less than $15k. Total for the job was $22k, and if the OP would like, I'm sure I can put him in touch with the customer.

02-22-2009, 10:29 PM	#8
RotaryProphet Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 147 Rep Power: 17	Putting a stock 20b with a good OEM rebuild and factory twins in should run between $5k and $10k, depending on how much of the drivetrain you put in with it, and what the car is designed to do. A street driven car probably doesn't need a twin clutch, particularly in the case of an 1980 RX, which weighs very little compared to what the motor came in OEM. I wouldn't recommend using the 12a trans, obviously (although I did run a 238rwhp ~300fwhp turbo 12a in my car on the stock trans/driveshaft/rear for dozens of strip and dyno runs and never had a failure - much to the dismay of people who told me I'd pop transmissions left and right). The stock rear on an FB will hold surprisingly much power (ask the rear in my small block chevy 400ci powered FB), and the wheels will spin in that car long before you have a chance to pop a T2 trans. Now if he's planning on running drag radials and launching at full throttle, none of that will stand up. But my point is, you guys are making serious assumptions about the point of this car, and the budget of the person doing the swap. When I say $30k is ridiculous, I'm assuming this is a street car, as the OP didn't specifically say otherwise. Again, if this is a drag car, A) that changes the equation seriously, and B) the OP shouldn't really be getting into that without knowing ahead of time what he's going to be doing to the car. But when I say half that, I mean I could build a street car to those general specs for $15k without a doubt. It's about knowing where you can do things cheaper and (usually) better. I use Megasquirt EFI systems I can build and wire in myself as opposed to haltech systems I can't modify, which saves literally thousands of dollars in most cases. I do the tuning in-house on my engine dyno, so I know where there are power gains to be had, and the tune ends up much more streetable because an engine dyno can hit places that a chassis dyno realistically can't. And the big thing, I'm used to doing things on a budget, and I know where there's free and cheap power. You don't buy thousand dollar intakes when you can build one in house for half the price. You don't spent thousands of dollars beefing up the trans when you can swap in a different one (I'm thinking T5) easier. You don't replace axles and the diff in the stock rear if you can swap out to a ford 9" rear by welding on some suspension brackets. The main point is that all of this can be done cheaply and will give superb performance- but it's labor intensive, and a lot of it boils down to how much the shop you go to charges for labor. Me? I'm dirt cheap, I do this to support my own habit, really. My profit goes to pay for my garage and more machine tools and such so that I can keep building my own stuff. The project I'm finishing in the next couple of weeks is a 20b build for a kid in New Jersey. It pretty much matches the OP's vague description. With a heavy port and a large single turbo, custom intake with an integral water->air intercooler (which is actually situated post-throttle body to increase spool time and so that the intercooler can actually function as the intake plenum) at moderate boost levels we're making 600 hp. I haven't run up into the high boost area yet, I'm debating with the customer the need for it, as we've already passed his power goal. With fuel system, Megasquirt, transmission, rear end, water/air intercooler system, oil coolers ,radiator, upgraded suspension, engine rebuild, custom manifolds and everything else involved, parts cost came out less than $15k. Total for the job was $22k, and if the OP would like, I'm sure I can put him in touch with the customer.